Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamu alaikum brother,

You are doing excellent job in the way of islam. I have one doubt brother, in dhuhr salath is there 4 rakath sunnath before 4 rakath fard? How to pray 4 rakath sunnath. Please explain with reference to quran and sunnath.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Four sunnah before dhuhr

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Hadrat Aishah (r.a.) said: "The Prophet (saws) never left praying four rakah before ‘dhuhr’ and two raka before ‘fajr’ under any circumstances."

Related by Ahmad and al-Bukhari.

The four rakah Sunnah prayer before the obligatory ‘dhuhr’ prayer is what is considered ‘Sunnah Muaqqedah’ in Islamic Jurisprudence; and in light of the above quoted guidance, it was the practice of the Messenger of Allah (saws) to never leave these four rakah prayer before the obligatory ‘dhuhr’ prayer.

The general practice of the Messenger of Allah (saws) was to offer most of his ‘nafl’ (extra) prayers in a set of two-rakah combinations, with a ‘tashahud’ and a set of ‘tasleems’ for each two-rakah combination.

Thus if one offers the four rakah Sunnah prayer before the obligatory ‘dhuhr’ prayer in two sets of two-rakah combinations, they would be in accordance with the practice of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan